


Better Together

by kittyeol



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, more fluff than plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-06
Updated: 2015-01-06
Packaged: 2018-03-06 08:43:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3128306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittyeol/pseuds/kittyeol
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Minseok approached Luhan at his supermarket job and asked him about the best cabbage, Luhan knew he met someone special.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Better Together

**Author's Note:**

> warning: not much plot, but lots of fluff

Generally, Luhan didn't mind working at a supermarket. It was relatively calm–save for those random Sundays when things went on sale and the customers would rampage and riot over the cheapest products–and everyone was friendly. It was an easy job, really. All he did was restock, work the register, and sometimes (but not often) he'd mop the floors.

One autumn day, Luhan was restocking the oranges when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

“Excuse me?” A voice piped up.

Luhan turned to find a small, nice looking boy standing behind him, holding two vegetables in his hands. His hair was dark red and spiky, his nose was small, and his face was slightly round. Cute.

“Yes?” Luhan said with his best customer-pleasing smile.

The boy smiled back at him and raised the veggies up until they were blocking his face. “You work here, right? Which cabbage would you recommend?”

Luhan glanced at the items and tried to keep his professional smile on as he stifled a laugh. “The best cabbage?” He asked, simply humouring him now.

The other boy nodded with the smile still on his face.

“Neither.” Luhan supplied.

He lowered his hands in confusion. “What's wrong with them? Are they not green enough?” He asked as he looked down at the offending vegetables.

“No, they're perfectly green. They're fine specimens! I'd recommend you buy them... if you were looking for green onions.”

The boy looked up from the green onions with embarrassment and shock written all over his face. His cheeks turned pink as he realized his mistake and Luhan couldn't help but laugh.

These were the days when he loved his job.

“I, er... Uh...” He lowered his head in shame. “I look really dumb right now, don't I?” He mumbled to himself, his face redder than ever.

Luhan's laughter subsided. “Don't worry about it. The cabbages are down at aisle six. Right next to the tomatoes,” Luhan said, “Those are the red, round things, by the way… just in case you were confused about that too.” He teased.

“I know what a tomato is...” He mumbled to himself. “Thanks, though. I would have tried making kimchi out of green onions if you hadn't told me otherwise. See you later.” The boy bowed his head slightly to Luhan and hurried away to the wrong aisle.

Luhan shook his head, smiling contently, and went back to placing the oranges.

 

. . .

 

Weeks passed and Luhan was working another shift. He was not in the best state of mind to work, as he had a large assignment to work on and he had put it off for weeks. His stress level was building enormously, and he knew that after his shift was over, he'd have to stay up all night to finish it.

Sighing, he went back to mopping the floor. He turned around to put up the 'Wet Floor' sign when he heard a crash and yelp from behind him. Luhan spun around quickly to help the person up.

“Are you alright?” He asked immediately.

The person groaned in pain. “My butt hurts and I'm embarrassed as hell, but I'm fine.” The person said.

He helped him up off the ground, and the stranger chanced a look at Luhan. He felt the boy instantly stiffen and his eyes grew wide.

That's when it clicked.

“Green onion boy!” Luhan exclaimed. He smiled widely at him and patted dust off the boy's sweater. It was large, bulky, and ugly. He looked adorable in it.

“Oh God, let me die.” The boy covered his face with his hands. “Why do I always manage to look foolish around you?” He complained.

Luhan shook his head. “Ah, you don't look foolish. You're very cute.” He complimented.

His face turned red at Luhan’s words. “I'm so dumb...” He mumbled, apparently still feeling very embarrassed.

He held himself back from saying anything else to embarrass green onion boy. “How did your kimchi turn out? Did you pick some good cabbage?”

At this, he sighed. He slowly lowered his hands, but he kept his gaze on the floor. “I ended up buying lettuce instead, and I still tried to make it, but of course I couldn’t make it with lettuce. On top of that, it was ridiculously salty. I nearly poisoned my roommate too and now he refuses to speak to me and–oh god, why am I telling you this?” He stopped his grumbling and took to covering his face again.

Luhan let out a loud laugh. “Ah, you're really too much.” He placed his hand on the boy's shoulder and squeezed lightly. “Tell you what! Because it's my fault for not putting the sign up sooner, I'll let you use my 20% employee discount on all your groceries.”

At this, the boy looked up in shock. “Wha- seriously?!”

He smiled and nodded at the boy, ruffling his hair affectionately. “I'm about to take over lane 5, so just come over when you're done shopping.”

The boy beamed at Luhan, his previous worries gone. “Wow, you're way awesome! Thanks, hyung!” He bowed low to Luhan and skipped off to shop for the rest of his things.

Luhan headed for lane 5 and relieved his co-worker. The boy eventually ambled over, his shopping cart filled to the brim with things.

“Ah... hi.” He said shyly to Luhan.

He bit back a laugh, not wanting to embarrass him again. He decided on smiling politely instead and began to ring up his items.

But at the thirteenth instant noodle package, he gave the customer a look. “Do you ever eat anything of substance?” He asked him.

The boy laughed at this (his laugh was adorable too) and scratched the back of his head. “I can't cook, as you already know. I usually eat out anyway... This is just for when I'm broke.”

Luhan nodded and his smile only grew as he continued to ring up the mountains of junk food. The boy's face was already chubby enough and it was only bound to get chubbier with all of the empty calories. Luhan shook his head, thoroughly amused.

“I'm Minseok, by the way.” The boy offered as he finished paying for his things. He leaned in to see Luhan's name tag. “Thanks for the discount... Kwangho.”

Kwangho? He looked down at his name tag, and there it was: Kwangho. He completely forgot about it.

“Oh, actually...”

“Well, thank you so much!” Minseok bowed low to Luhan, grabbed his bags–wincing at the weight–and hurried as fast as his legs could carry him out the sliding doors.

Luhan looked at his retreating figure and laughed out loud. “Kwangho...” He muttered to himself.

Cute.

It wasn't until half an hour later that Luhan's smile slipped off his face when he remembered his assignment.

 

. . .

 

Soon after that, Luhan saw Minseok regularly at the supermarket. Minseok would usually smile and wave if he was working the register, and if restocking, he would stop by and say hello. Each time, he'd greet him cheerfully, his eyes lighting up. Luhan hadn't had the heart to correct him and, well, it was really amusing.

One day, Luhan’s co-worker, Kris, was helping him restock cans. They were chatting amiably when he heard the familiar voice of a small boy.

“Kwangho-hyung!” He called out. Minseok walked over to Luhan and smiled at him. “How are you doing?”

“Ah, Minseok!” Luhan greeted. He ruffled Minseok's hair like he usually did.

“Kwangho? Who's Kwangho?” Kris quirked an eyebrow as he asked.

Confused, Minseok pointed at Luhan. “Uh, that's Kwangho. Have you not met...?”

It was Kris' turn to be confused, until the pieces clicked. He laughed out loud, his deep voice reverberating. Luhan tried to hold back his laugh as he shook his head at Kris, desperately trying to get him to stop.

“What?” Minseok asked, confused and adorable as ever.

“Kwangho? Really?” He teased Luhan.

Luhan sighed to himself, albeit still amused, and turned to look at the puzzled Minseok. “I didn't know how to tell you this–and it was really funny, too–but my name isn't Kwangho. The supermarket didn't want to buy me a new name tag, so I'm using an old one. You left too quickly that day for me to correct you, so...”

At his words, Minseok turned the brightest shade of red that Luhan had ever seen on him.

“Oh GOD.” He wailed. Minseok crouched down to the ground and placed his arms around his knees, ducking his head in between and fully covering his face. “I want to die.”

Kris guffawed, his face contorting weirdly. Luhan shot him a dirty look. “Go! Just go! I can finish over here.” He shooed him.

The taller boy conceded, but he didn't stop laughing as he walked out of the aisle.

Luhan looked down at Minseok and sighed. He crouched down to his level. “Hey, it's not that big of a deal! Lots of people call me Kwangho. It's even starting to feel like my real name!” He joked.

Minseok refused to look up. Instead, he continued to mumble to himself. “I want the earth to swallow me up so that I can never show my dumb face ever again.”

Luhan felt his heart ache at his words. Minseok was so incredibly endearing when he was embarrassed that Luhan's heart couldn't even handle it.

“Oh, Minseok. If only you knew how adorable you looked right now!” Luhan cooed.

When the boy didn't answer, Luhan awkwardly crouched closer the boy and ruffled his hair “Ah, don't be embarrassed. It's my fault for not telling you sooner... but you were just so cute when you called me Kwangho.”

At this, Minseok huddled into his little crouched ball even more. “I am such a dweeb. Can I be struck down by lightning? Please?” He begged no one in particular.

Luhan held himself back and stopped himself from cooing even more. He moved closer and placed his hands on Minseok’s shoulders. “I'm sorry for not telling you earlier. It's my fault for being mean.”

“You weren't mean. I'm just dumb.” The other boy mumbled.

Luhan sighed. “Look, my shift finishes in-” he glanced at his watch quickly, “ten minutes. Wait for me? I'll treat you to dinner as an apology.” He said.

“No, you don't have-” Minseok tried to butt in.

“I want to. Or else I'm going to feel guilty. I'll be done in ten, so just wait for me.” He told the boy. With a final ruffle of his hair, Luhan got up and wheeled his cart of cans away.

 

Fifteen minutes later, changed and ready to go, Luhan found Minseok standing outside, his hands in his pockets and his head down. His face was covered by the thick scarf around his neck and he was doing a little jiggle to try and keep warm. Luhan sighed at the sight, his heart flopping around again.

He stopped in front of the boy and extended his hand. “Hi, I'm Luhan. I'm twenty-one, and I work at this supermarket over here. It's nice to meet you.”

Minseok looked at his hand, then at him, and back at his hand. He saw the shorter boy smile as he took his outstretched hand.

“I'm Minseok. I'm twenty-one, and I make a fool of myself all the time in your presence.” He replied.

A big smile took over Luhan's face as he held the other boy's hand. “Now that we're properly acquainted, let's go eat!”

It's not until they were eating some street food that Luhan realized what Minseok said earlier. “Wait, you’re twenty-one?”

Minseok understood immediately what he was getting at. “Yeah! I've been calling you hyung this entire time, too... Have I done anything right?” He joked.

Luhan wasn't distracted by his joke. “When's your birthday?” He asked.

“March.” He said, his mouth filled with food, puffing up his already chubby cheeks.

Luhan gasped. “Mine is in April! You're older than me!” He exclaimed. “I guess I should call you hyung.”

Minseok munched his food thoughtfully. “You don't have to. There’s barely even a difference. I certainly don't feel older than you anyway.”

He shoved Minseok lightly on the shoulder. “I was kidding. You're too small to be called hyung.” He teased.

“Hey!” Minseok complained as he rubbed the spot Luhan hit.

Luhan just laughed.

 

. . .

 

“You should give me your number.” Luhan told Minseok nonchalantly one Saturday morning as he organized the cat food.

Minseok stopped texting his friend to look up at Luhan. “Why?” He asked.

“So that I can make sure that you eat properly! And you're also good company.”

Which was true. Ever since they had eaten together, Minseok had taken to talking to Luhan for fifteen minutes whenever he saw him. He'd like to think that they were now close enough friends to exchange numbers.

“Oh. Okay, sure.”

With Minseok’s number saved onto his phone, Luhan felt like his heart was lighter than usual.

 

 

Later that night, when Luhan was getting ready for bed, he remembered his cell phone. With a smile on his face, he found Minseok's number and typed out a quick text.

 

From: Luhan

☆彡minseok!!~ (*^▽^*) did u eat something normal 2day??? u shud go 2 bed soon!! ☆

 

From: Minseok

luhan? i only ate noodles today... sorry. my roommate wants to play games so i'm probably going to stay up tonight

 

From: Luhan

（￣□￣；） u shud eat better!!! (・へ・) i'm going 2 bed… have fun *~☆~*

 

From: Minseok

okay, mom. sweet dreams, luhan~

 

Luhan stared at the last text for several minutes until he realized what he was doing. He shut his phone and put it on his bedside table.

This boy was just too cute for his own good.

 

. . .

 

Soon, Luhan found himself texting Minseok all the time. He really wasn't expecting him to be such a talkative person, but the boy messaged him often. And when Luhan replied (like, all the time), he would get a message back immediately. Luhan enjoyed this immensely.

Over messages, they learned a lot about each other. Luhan told Minseok about leaving China, about his major in Literature, how his cat back home hated him, and about the old lady that would come by the supermarket and hit on him. Minseok told him about how he'd never left Korea, about his major in some sort of science (Minseok had rambled about it; Luhan tuned out and looked at how cute his hands were as he moved them around), and how his one professor hated him for being so tiny.

He also found himself spending more time with the boy. He and Minseok frequented a small coffee shop with cushy chairs and the most delicious cookies he had ever tasted. Minseok often remarked that they were probably made out of rainbows and sunshine. Luhan laughed every time.

They were in the coffee shop on a Wednesday afternoon, just an hour before Luhan had class. They both sat on the opposite ends facing each other with their shoes off and legs up. They sat close enough that their knees touched so Luhan liked to burrow his feet underneath Minseok where they would warm up nicely.

“My roommate broke up with his girlfriend, so he's been really depressed lately.” Minseok told Luhan. “I hate seeing him upset, but she really was no good for him.”

Luhan looked at the boy across him. He was wearing a large, yellow scarf on top of his trademark woolly sweater that he loved to wear. He was so cute that Luhan had to fight the intense urge to squeeze the boy to death.

“Tell me about your roommate.” Luhan requested.

Minseok pursed his lips thoughtfully before he spoke. “Um... his name is Jongdae. He's really smart, he's great at singing–that's how he got his girlfriend, by serenading her–he doesn't like the color brown, and he's really good at games. He gets mad at me all the time, too. About everything! Like this morning, he got mad at me because apparently I take too long to reply to his messages.” Minseok rolled his eyes at the memory.

Luhan cocked his head, confused. “But you reply to me right away.” He supplied.

“Uh... Um, yeah.” He sputtered. Luhan watched as he turned pink and desperately tried to cover his face with his large coffee mug. “Tell me about your friends… Like about that really tall guy that works with you!” Minseok said, changing the focus onto Luhan.

Luhan took a sip from his drink before answering. “Oh, Kris. He's really funny and interesting, which you wouldn't expect because he looks totally drab. We ended up having a lot of mutual friends too, so now we run in the same circles.” Luhan told him. He looked at the boy who was smiling at him innocently and Luhan couldn't resist leaning over and ruffling his hair with his free hand.

Minseok bat him away and tried to fix the mess that Luhan made. “Why do you always do that? My hair always gets ruined, thanks to you...” He whined.

Luhan just beamed at the sight. “It’s because you’re cute when you’re annoyed.”

Minseok turned pink at the compliment. “I–what?” He sputtered in embarrassment.

He couldn't help but laugh at his reaction. An embarrassed Minseok was even more adorable.

 

. . .

 

Luhan and Kris were bent double in laughter, clutching at their sides and gasping for air when Minseok turned into the aisle and caught sight of the two boys. He looked confused at the two boys and their insane laughter. He waited a few moments until they calmed down.

“Oh god, that was so funny.” Luhan told Kris as he wiped the tears off his face.

Kris took deep breaths and grinned widely at the shorter boy. “This stuff only happens when I'm with you, Luhan. You're a magnet for trouble.” He told Luhan. He saw Minseok, patted his head, and walked off before the manager saw them slacking off.

“Kris! Are we still on for the movie tonight?” Luhan called.

The tall boy gave him a thumbs up, indicating yes.

Luhan directed his gaze to the boy in front of him. “Hello, Minseok. Good timing you have!”

Minseok smiled at him and pointed aimlessly behind him. “What just happened?” He asked.

“We were just restocking together, and this woman came up and started hitting on the both of us. She said some ridiculous things and she even pinched Kris' butt! His expression was just so funny... God, I love that kid.”

Minseok chuckled appreciatively at the story. “You two get along really well.”

Luhan rolled his eyes, amused at the comment. “We didn't always get along.” He told him.

“Why not?” Minseok leaned against of the ledges and watched Luhan work.

“Ah... well, I had a gigantic crush on him when he first came here. I confessed to him immediately and he rejected me right away. He told me he had someone that he liked. I cried a lot, he apologized a lot, and he even bought me ice cream to make me feel better.” Luhan explained. “Naturally, I started to loathe him. He broke my frail, delicate heart! But one day, he bumped his head against some corner–because he's so gigantic–and he ended up getting a huge bruise on his face. He was so pathetic that I forgave him. Ever since then, we've gotten along great!” Luhan finished his story along with his restocking.

He turned to look at Minseok, who was looking at him with his mouth open.

“What?” He asked.

Minseok shook his head and looked down at the ground. He licked his lips and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “So, you...” he cleared his throat before talking, “you like boys?” He asked, still not looking him in the eyes.

Luhan froze in his spot, his heart doing a nervous flip. “Um... yeah. I do.” He said. He tried to keep calm, but his heart started racing and his palms were sweating. He had lost many of his friends because of this, and he didn't want to lose Minseok. Luhan averted his eyes too, rocking back and forth on his heels. “Do you mind?” he asked. He forced himself to glance up at the boy to see his reaction.

At his words, Minseok looked up immediately and shook his head. “No, no! Not at all!” He denied. “I'm just surprised. I didn't expect you...” he trailed off.

Luhan felt his heart lighten immensely and a large smile took over his face. “Good–great! I'm really glad.” he said sincerely.

Minseok smiled back at him briefly, but then he looked back down at his feet. “Um...” He began, his face turning pink. “Do you still like him?”

It took a few moments for Luhan to answer. That was the last thing he expected him to ask. “Not at all. He's still really attractive, but he's just not my type at all.” He told the boy nonchalantly.

Minseok raised his head, looking almost relieved, but he still refused to meet Luhan's eyes. He cleared his throat again. “What is your type, exactly?” He asked.

Luhan shrugged. “I like cute things? I collect a lot of plushies.” He told the boy.

Finally looking into his eyes, Minseok took a large breath. “If you like cute things, does that mean you-”

“Luhan, get back to work!” His manager scolded him from the end of the aisle. “The toilets need cleaning!”

“Yes! Sorry!” He bowed low to his boss. “Ah, Minseok, I have to go. Text me later?” He didn't wait for a reply as he rushed off before his manager got a chance to yell at him again.

Luhan managed to glance behind him before he turned the corner. He stopped when he saw Minseok looking very disappointed as he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked the other way, his head low. Luhan stood there, confused. Had he said something? Was it because he was gay? But Minseok did say he was okay with it and he seemed sincere about it. He made a mental note to call him later.

“Luhan! Go!” His manager barked.

He jumped at the surprise. “Yes! Sorry!”

 

Later that night, after his movie with Kris, Luhan decided to call Minseok as he walked home.

“Hello?”

“Minseok! What's up?”

“Ah... nothing. Just sitting at home.”

Luhan could picture Minseok lounging on his bed and reading books.

“I see.”

There was a long silence.

“Um, did you want something?” He asked, his voice confused.

Luhan smiled to himself. “No, not really. I just wanted to hear your voice.” He said.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Silence settled over them. Luhan walked a few more steps, perfectly content with just being on the line with him. The night air was chilly and nipped at his face.

“Luhan?”

He hummed in reply.

“Do you want to see a movie with me sometime?”

Luhan laughed at how shy he sounded. “I'd love to. Any time you want.”

“Okay, good.”

After that, Luhan talked to Minseok the rest of the way home. Even when he got home, he ended up chatting with him until Minseok fell asleep. He hung up after whispering a good night and he placed his phone on the pillow next to his. He drifted off to sleep with his heart light and his cheeks hurting from smiling too much.

 

. . .

Luhan was standing outside a theatre and warming up his hands by breathing into them (he really needed to start wearing warmer clothes) when his friend finally arrived.

“Luhan!” Minseok called. The boy was wearing about a thousand layers of clothes, with a big woolly hat on his head and a gigantic scarf covering half his face. “You look like death. Come on, let’s go in.” Minseok said as he ushered Luhan inside.

“Nice to see you too…” Luhan murmured to himself.

Minseok bought their tickets and Luhan bought popcorn and drinks and they settled in for a comedy that apparently had fantastic reviews.

 

Why it had great reviews, Luhan didn't understand. Half an hour into the movie and he was ridiculously bored. Minseok seemed to enjoy it, though, since his eyes hadn't left the screen even once.

Luhan sighed loudly, but the boy didn't even notice. He crossed his arms and pouted. The minutes ticked by slowly and Luhan was ready to rip his hair out. He hated being bored more than anything in the world. He let out another large sigh as he began to inspect his nails.

He felt Minseok's leg brush up against his. His leg was warm and Luhan felt odd tingles where Minseok touched him. Minseok usually shied away from too much physical contact, so it spun Luhan's head around in circles. Releasing a deep breath he wasn't aware he was holding, he glanced at the enraptured boy and realized just how out of it Minseok was.

Luhan pressed his leg against Minseok's and leaned in towards him. He didn't even blink.

It became Luhan’s mission to get the other boy's attention. He sneaked his foot around Minseok's but he ended up getting kicked away. He placed his hand on Minseok’s knee, but the smaller boy just laughed out loud at a punch line from the movie. Luhan felt like he was laughing at his failures in trying to distract him.

It only motivated him to try harder.

He inched his hand up to his thigh. Still no reaction. As a final struggle, Luhan took Minseok's hand and laced their fingers. Nothing.

Luhan was completely shocked. Usually, when Luhan touched him, Minseok would blush and stutter and try to wriggle his way out of his touch. He didn't know that his attention was so tunnel-like that he wouldn't even notice him holding his hand.

He gave up on trying to slyly catch his attention and instead whisper-shouted in his ear. “Minseok!”

Minseok jumped at his voice, unconsciously squeezing Luhan’s hand when he did. He looked a little bit dazed as he looked at Luhan, worry on his face. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

Luhan pouted and batted his eyelashes. “I’m bored…” He trailed off, looking at Minseok from under his eyelashes.

“Oh, then do you-” he stopped abruptly as the audience laughed at something that happened and he immediately scanned the screen for what he missed “Take a nap or something.” He said, turning back to the movie and settling in to pay attention again.

Luhan slumped in his seat, annoyed and disgruntled. If there was anything he disliked more than being bored, it was being ignored. He stuck his tongue out at the inattentive Minseok.

He decided to take his advice, however; he leaned his head in the most comfortable position and shut his eyes. He thanked the lucky stars he could fall asleep quickly, otherwise he’d be stuck with a rock for a friend and a terrible movie.

Minseok really needed to pay more attention to him, he thought as he drifted off. He should know that Luhan hated being ignored. In fact, he was annoyed at him!

He didn’t let go of his hand, though. It was too warm and the theatre was a bit drafty.

 

“Luhan,” a soft voice whispered as someone shook him, “get up. The movie’s over.”

Luhan cracked one eye open to see Minseok smiling at him, oblivious of anything that had happened. He also noticed that they weren’t holding hands anymore. This only disgruntled him further. He leaned away from him and faced the other way, getting comfortable for a continuation of his nap. “I don’t want to talk to you.” Luhan said, admittedly childishly. 

“Why not?” Minseok said, clueless as ever.

Luhan glared at Minseok and stuck his tongue out. “I don’t like people who ignore me.”

Still confused, Minseok cocked his head to the side, trying to figure out why the boy was mad. A few moments later, Luhan could almost hear the cogs clicking together in his head as he figured it out. “Oh…” He said, finally understanding. Luhan waited for an apology.

“You’re being a baby.” Minseok said bluntly.

Luhan gasped loudly as he whirled around to look at Minseok. The offending boy was leaning over and stretching, obviously not realizing what he just said.

“What did you say?” Luhan demanded.

“You’re being a baby.” He repeated.

“I heard you the first time!” Luhan protested, “I’m not being a baby! You ignored me this entire time when I was trying to get your attention! Is the movie more important than your favourite person in the world?” He dramatized.

Minseok rolled his eyes at this. “Luhan, we were watching a movie that you agreed to see! It’s only polite to respect the people around you, including your friend who was clearly enjoying the movie and didn’t want to be bothered.” He lectured him.

Luhan started feeling a little bit guilty at this, and it must have showed on his face as Minseok’s expression softened.

“Let’s go get some ice cream, okay? Little babies always cheer up after ice cream.” Minseok teased.

“Hey!” He protested. “I’m not a baby. I just need a lot of love and affection!”

“Of course. Let’s go, okay?” Minseok said, placating Luhan.

“Alright. But it’s your treat!” He said, cheeky as ever. “And I need to borrow your scarf. It’s really cold outside.”

“Fine, fine. You big baby.”

“I’m not a baby!”

 

. . .

 

“Minseooooooook.” Luhan whined into the phone.

“What’s up?”

Luhan lounged on his bed, lying on his stomach. He had been reading a book for class, but he was bored out of his mind and Minseok was always fun to talk to. “I just want to hear your beautiful voice!” Luhan sang into the phone. He threw his book to the other side of the room and got comfortable.

“Ah, you always say that. Do you ever call me with a purpose?” Minseok's unimpressed voice replied.

“Hearing your voice is a purpose.”

“Do you always try to charm people like this?”

Luhan laughed at this, his eyes crinkling. “Am I charming you?” He asked slyly.

“I-what? No!”

He chuckled. Talking to Minseok warmed him up to his very toes.

They settled into a nice conversation until the topic of Minseok’s roommate came up. Luhan asked him how he was holding up.

“He’s better now, but he’s still very sad.” Luhan heard him sigh. “It’s such a shame that relationships can do this to someone.”

Luhan hummed in agreement. That was when he was struck with a sudden question. “How many girlfriends have you had, Minseok?” Luhan asked with incredible curiosity.

Minseok was silent. Moments passed, and he still didn’t say anything.

“Minseok?”

“Um,” He began. Luhan flipped onto his back, hanging on to his every word. “uh… four?”

At this, Luhan sat up immediately. “Four? What?!” Luhan had been expecting one, maybe two people. Not four!

“Well, if we include elementary school, then seven. But I don’t think that counts.”

Luhan was shocked. He hadn’t expected him to have been this popular. More importantly, he hadn’t expected himself to be this upset over it. He mulled his thoughts over in silence.

“Luhan? Are you there?”

Luhan made a grunt to show that he was indeed there.

“Ah, okay. What about you?”

“No.”

“What?” The older boy protested, “I told you! Tell me!”

“No.” He insisted stubbornly.

“You’re being a baby.”

“I’m not!” He denied.

“Then tell me!”

“…one.” He said as quietly as possible.

Minseok was silent on the line, until he exploded. “One? What?! How can that be? You look like you’ve had at least eight!”

Luhan felt insulted by this. “What is that supposed to mean?” He demanded.

“Ah, no, that’s not how I meant it!” he immediately retracted, “I just mean… you’re very attractive. You know that. I’m just surprised that more people haven’t confessed to you.”

Hearing Minseok call him attractive made his heart soar up to the sky, past the stars, and out to the next galaxy. “Well, people have confessed to me,” Luhan said, trying to keep his voice steady when his heart clearly was not, “they were all girls, though.”

“Oh.”

Luhan didn’t say anything.

“What if a boy confessed to you? What would you do?”

Luhan lay back down, looking up at his ceiling. His cheap, glow in the dark stars that he put up were still (surprisingly) there. “I’ve only ever had one boy confess to me–my ex-boyfriend–so I don’t really know what I’d do…” He trailed off and toyed with a loose string in his jeans, "Plus, I usually do most of the confessing."

Minseok was quiet on the line for a few moments before he spoke. 

“Really?”

"Yeah, usually. There's no point in waiting, right? I don't ever want to regret something," he said simply, "but that does mean I've been rejected a few times." He laughed at the thought.

“I see.” Minseok replied, his voice sounding a bit ragged.

“Hey, are you–”

“Ah, I’ve got to go. See you.” Minseok explained as he hung up hurriedly.

Luhan frowned at his phone for a few moments, confused at the sudden end to their conversation.

 

. . .

 

“No, ma’am, it’s not on sale,” Luhan explained, his smile strained.

“But down at Jung’s, I can get it for half the price! I only come here because I’m a loyal shopper, you know!” The middle aged lady complained. There were deep creases in her forehead from frowning so much and her voice was sharp and very naggy. She reminded him a lot of his own mother.

“I know, Ms. Park, and we’re so grateful to you, but I can’t give you a discount on that. I can give you a discount on the oranges. Half off!” He pointed to the large display of oranges that he put up earlier as he tried to convince the older woman. They were already on sale and Luhan had been on his way to find the sign and put it up. This just made things easier.

“But–”

“And I know how much Mr. Park loves oranges. Perfect, right? They’re also much better quality than the ones down as Jung’s–cheaper too.” He concluded.

The creases in her forehead relaxed as she listened to his patient (albeit forced) words.

“Ah… I suppose you’re right.” She conceded, giving him a small smile.

He put on most genuine smile and thanked her, “Excellent! Thank you, Ms. Park. Tell little Yuna I say hi!” He waved at her and walked away.

The second he turned around, the smile slipped from his face. He sighed. The day was taking too long to end. He glanced towards the clock; he still had a few hours left. He sighed again and rubbed his eyes.

He started to walk back to his station when a familiar head of red hair caught his eyes. Unknowingly, he smiled at the sight.

“Minseok!” He called to the boy crouching behind a display rack.

The aforementioned boy jumped at hearing his name. He lifted himself off the ground.

“Why were you hiding?” e asked cheerfully.

“Uh, well- um,” he mumbled, “stretching? I was stretching.”

Luhan cocked his head, confused. “Uh, okay?” He complied. He scanned the other boy’s face, slightly worried. He had bags under his eyes and his skin didn’t look as bright or as soft as it usually did. “Hey, you okay?” He questioned.

“Hm? Yeah. Just tired,” he said, “so, what are you up to?”

Luhan shot him a doubtful look, but he let it slide. “Nothing, really. I just calmed down a customer. We got a shipment of shampoo, though, so if you want to join me…”

Minseok smiled. “Yeah, sure.” He agreed.

 

“He said that I wasn’t detailed enough!” Luhan complained.

“Mhm…” Minseok hummed as he placed a L’Oreal bottle on the shelf.

“I talked about the amount of freckles on her face, for god’s sake. Did he want me to point out her pores?! Does he want that?!” Luhan slammed a bottle of Pantene on the ground as he ranted, as if it would help his argument.

Minseok stayed quiet beside him, but nodded in–what Luhan thought was–agreement.

“He has it out for me, I swear.” he grumbled. He sighed loudly and looked over at his companion. “What do you think?”

“I’m gay,” Minseok blurted out. A look of mortification took over his face as he realized what he said.

“That’s exactly– what?” Luhan faltered as he dropped the bottle in his hand.

“Um…” Minseok mumbled. He covered his face with his hands as Luhan stared at him.

“You’re… but I thought you… what?”

“I didn’t know how to tell you.” He admitted as he lifted his face out of his hands and settled on looking at anything except for Luhan.

Luhan gaped at him, not comprehending anything. “I– but– you–” Luhan babbled. His forced himself to stop talking.

“Are you mad?” Minseok asked, his voice weak. He was looking at his feet now.

“No! No.” Luhan gulped and took a deep breath before continuing, “I’m–you know–that. Too. I’m also gay. You know that already. Um.” he garbled. He winced at his ridiculous words and tried again, “What I’m trying to say is… I understand how hard it is.”

Luhan could practically feel Minseok relax next to him. “I– yeah. Thank you,” he thanked him sincerely.

He cleared his throat and shook his head, “No, thank you. For telling me,” he said as he offered the boy a small smile.

Minseok turned to look at him and grinned widely, relief evident on his face. “Wow… I’m glad I finally got it off my chest. It’s been eating at me for days. Thank you, really.” Minseok explained, the smile still on his face. His dark circles seemed to diminish and his face looked brighter.

In fact… it was like he was glowing. Minseok was glowing.

That was it, Luhan thought to himself, he was officially unhinged.

 

. . .

 

Luhan walked into the coffee shop, cold and grumpy. Even inside the warm area, the cold continued to bite at his skin and his whole face felt raw and beaten from the wind. He hurried off to meet Minseok, who was sitting on their usual sofa. The other boy watched amusedly as Luhan kicked off his shoes, took the scarf from Minseok‘s outstretched hand, and burrowed his feet under the other boy’s legs as he sat on the opposite end.

“You’re so dumb.” Minseok commented, clearly still amused.

“Shut up,” He grumbled as he wrapped the scarf around his neck. He took a deep breath and let it out happily. It smelled just like Minseok.

“Why don’t you just keep that?” Minseok gestured to the green scarf, “You always end up taking my scarves anyway, and I’ve got plenty left over.”

Finally warmed up a bit, Luhan thought it was safe enough to reach over and grab the coffee that Minseok had ordered for him. He cradled it and took a sip, sighing happily.

“No, it’s okay,” He said to him, “I only like it because it smells of you. If I wore it all the time, it would just smell like me. That’s not fun.” Luhan explained as he wriggled his toes underneath the boy’s legs. Minseok squirmed at the movement.

“You’re ridiculous,” Minseok said, his face pink. In a sudden movement, Minseok reached over and ruffled Luhan’s hair until it was all over the place.

Luhan pushed his hands away in outrage. “Hey! What was that for?” he demanded

Minseok stuck his tongue out at him. “Oh, sorry.” He apologized (but not sounding very sorry at all). “You’re just so cute when you’re annoyed, Luhan.” He added, mischief clear in his voice.

Luhan felt his cheeks heat up (in what he wanted to pretend was anger). He pulled at his hair to fix it and was about to complain loudly when the sound of a phone ringing startled them both. Minseok reached into his heavy winter sweater and pulled out his phone. “It’s Jongdae. This’ll only take a minute.”

He watched as Minseok talked on the phone. He seemed so relaxed to be talking to Jongdae. It got Luhan a bit curious.

Minseok closed the phone with an annoyed goodbye and rolled his eyes. “He couldn’t find the shampoo. Is he an idiot? He’s the one who put it away the last time.”

“Can I meet him?” Luhan asked rather abruptly.

The other boy looked confused. “You want to meet Jongdae?” Minseok asked, disbelief evident on his face. At Luhan’s eager nods, he let out a sigh. “Sure, why not?” He agreed.

. . .

“Ah, welcome.” Minseok said happily with his face still tinged pink from the cold.

Luhan bowed slightly as he entered. He looked around as he slipped off his shoes. “Thanks for inviting me,” he replied. Minseok took both of their jackets and put them away neatly in the closet by the door.

“Jongdae!” Minseok called as he walked down the small hallway and into what appeared to be the living room. Luhan followed him down and noticed immediately how clean the room was.

The next thing he noticed was a boy with black hair and a kind look to him.

“Jongdae, this is Luhan. I told you he’d be coming today.” Minseok explained, “Luhan, this is Jongdae.”

Luhan smiled immediately, happy to have finally met the great Jongdae. “Hello,” he greeted as he bowed, “nice to meet you.”

“You too!” Jongdae said as he bowed back and the kind smile still on his face, “I’ve heard quite a bit about you, so it’s nice to finally meet you.”

Luhan’s amused gaze flicked to Minseok, who had turned slightly pink at the comment. Luhan’s smile grew as he looked back at Jongdae. “Likewise.” He said cheerfully.

“Ah, shall I make us some tea?” Minseok offered. He popped off into the kitchen and left Luhan alone with Jongdae.

“So, Luhan…” Jongdae drawled. The kind smile slipped off his face and turned into a more mischievous smirk as he continued, “you and Minseok, huh? Just friends?”

Luhan shot Jongdae an amused look. “Yup, just friends. I’m not good enough for Minseok.” He joked.

The other boy laughed loudly at his joke. “Is that so?” He asked. Jongdae tapped his chin before speaking again, “I find that very interesting.” His words were loaded and Luhan was intrigued.

Luhan quirked an eyebrow at Jongdae. “Why?” Luhan asked, leaning forward attentively. He wondered if Minseok had mentioned anything curious about him.

Jongdae smirked at Luhan again with a sly glint in his eye. “Well–”

“Thanks, Jongdae!” Minseok intervened as he carried bottles in his arms, glaring at his unapologetic roommate. Luhan smiled at the thought that Minseok had been eavesdropping. “Unfortunately, we don’t have tea. Fortunately, none of us like tea anyway, so that’s not a problem.” Minseok explained as he handed Luhan the bottle of soda. They settled on the couches and turned on the TV to watch some show that none of them paid much attention to.

Luhan concluded that Jongdae was a pretty good guy. He understood why Minseok was so fond of him. He smiled constantly and looked at whoever was speaking with rapt attention. He made lots of jokes, even though most of them were at his own expense.

Luhan also noticed how well he and Minseok got along. He got a perfect view of them as he sat in the armchair and the other two sat in the loveseat near him. The two boys were like two pieces of a puzzle that fit perfectly. When one moved his leg so that they weren’t touching, the other put his hand on the other’s thigh. They looked at each other with fond attention and seemed to understand what the other boy was saying before he even fully said it. They even finished each other’s sentences. They were two peas in a pod.

…and he was damn jealous about it. Luhan tried very hard to squash the feeling, but he found it very difficult when the display of their closeness was consistently in his line of vision. He didn’t really know what he was jealous of–not really–but he didn’t feel good about it. Seeing the two best friends together made him homesick for his best friends back in China.

The jealousy bubbled inside of him as he desperately tried to push it away to try just be happy about being with his friend.

Minseok was in the middle of telling a story when the phone rang. It jostled Luhan out of his thoughts. He watched Jongdae jump up and get it, his face bright.

“Hello?” He answered, his voice as eager as his face. “Sohee. Hi.” He said breathlessly.

Minseok sniggered as Jongdae waved a quick goodbye at Luhan and ignored Minseok completely as he hurried down another hallway towards what was probably his room. “His new girlfriend.” Minseok explained.

Luhan hummed in response.

“So…” Luhan flicked his gaze towards the boy and watched with mild amusement as he played with his fingers nervously. “What do you think? About Jongdae.” Minseok asked.

“He’s great.” Luhan said sincerely. He really meant it.

Minseok’s face relaxed immediately and blinding smile took over his face. Damn. The boy was glowing again and all it took was Luhan to compliment Jongdae.

The jealousy roared louder inside of him.

“Do you mind if I use the bathroom?” Luhan asked as he stood up quickly.

“Go ahead. It’s the last door.” Minseok said and pointed to the hallway that held three doors.

He splashed water on his face once he was inside the room. He needed to get a grip; he shouldn’t be jealous of two best friends that got along really well. He stared at himself in the mirror and sighed at his reflection. Without realizing it, he was frowning heavily and the lines on his face were deep and ugly.

“Idiot…” He muttered to himself.

He took a deep breath and smacked himself on the cheeks a few times. He was a good friend. He would continue to be a good friend because Minseok was nice to him–too nice–and he deserved kindness in return. His first visit to his friend’s house shouldn’t be tainted with jealousy.

Determined, he nodded to himself and pulled open the door.

He glanced at the door next to the one he just exited. It was half open, showing just enough of the dark room to pique Luhan’s interest. He pushed the door open slowly as he flicked on the lights.

The room was immaculate. Navy seemed to be the theme of the room as everything was that color. His bed, pillows, chair, wallpaper… It seemed just like him. Luhan walked towards the desk that was on the opposite end of the room from the bed. His books, papers, and pencils were organized neatly.

“Luhan?” He heard Minseok call from the other room.

“In here!” He answered, loud enough for the other boy to hear. Luhan looked around the room again. He couldn’t help but laugh at the table of elements poster that hung above his bed.

“What are you doing?” Minseok asked from the doorway.

Luhan glanced over his shoulder and grinned cheekily. “Invading your privacy.” Picture frames sitting on a dresser caught his eye and he hurried towards them, hoping for a baby picture of the other boy.

“You’re supposed to ask before entering, you know. It’s polite.” Minseok lectured half-heartedly.

Luhan scanned the photos, laughing at the silly expressions found in each one. “When have I ever been polite?” He struck gold when he saw a photo of a 3-year old Minseok blinking into the camera with a confused smile on his face. “You are the cutest thing, Minseok.” Luhan cooed, waving the frame cheerfully.

Minseok rolled his eyes with his face noticeably pink and sat on his bed.

Luhan whirled around to look at the other frames. The next one to catch his eye was one with a group of six boys clustered together and all with big, bright smiles on their faces. What really interested him was Minseok, however. He was standing in the middle, with Jongdae on his left, and another boy on right. He seemed to be very handsome, from what he could tell. He had both arms wrapped around Minseok and was planting a large kiss on the side of his face. The gesture seemed to be familiar.

Luhan felt the jealousy bubbling up again.

“Who’s this?” Luhan questioned as calmly as possible.

“Who?”

Luhan took the frame with him as he sat next to Minseok and showed him the photo. He pointed to the boy who was kissing him.

He watched the other boy’s expression soften. “Ah,” He let out a deep breath, “That’s Jongin… he was my first love.” Minseok explained.

Ex-boyfriend. Of course.

Luhan let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “What happened?” He asked as he lay back on the bed. Minseok joined him. They both stared at the ceiling for a while.

“He was too young and I was too serious. We were–are better off as friends.”

Luhan hummed. They were silent for minutes, both lost in thought.

“What happened with yours?” Minseok folded his hands over his stomach as he asked the question.

He smiled and grabbed one of the other boy’s hands and played with it. Finally, he laced their fingers together and lowered their hands to rest between them.

“He fell in love with someone else.” Luhan said, sighing loudly, “Anyway, that was almost two years ago. It doesn’t matter anymore. He was a good first boyfriend and that’s all that matters.” Luhan turned to look at Minseok with a slight grin on his face.

Minseok stared back with a smile on his face. “I’m glad.” 

He squeezed the other boy’s hand in response. They sat in silence for a while.

Luhan mulled over what Minseok told him. So he’d had such a handsome boyfriend... It bothered him more than he wished to admit. He idly wondered how many other good looking ex-boyfriends he had. Startled at the thought, he sat up quickly, dread settling in his stomach to join the jealousy that was still frothing around angrily.

“Minseok.” Luhan deadpanned.

“Wha–”

“How many boyfriends have you had?” He asked, impatiently cutting off the other boy.

Minseok sat up and stared at Luhan. “Two? Four, if you count ones that lasted less than a month.” Minseok said warily.

“I– what– four?” Luhan stumbled on his words as he turned to face the boy next to him. At Minseok’s innocent expression, Luhan groaned and screwed his eyes shut. “Life is so unfair.” Luhan whined.

“I don’t get why you’re so upset.”

Luhan opened his eyes and saw confusion all over the other boy’s face. Luhan groaned again. He leaned forward and placed his head on Minseok’s shoulder. “Why does no one love me?” Luhan grumbled, mostly to himself.

“That’s not true!” Minseok argued. He patted Luhan’s back softly.

“Shut up. I hate you.” Luhan said grumpily.

Minseok’s patting stopped. “Really?”

Luhan lightly smacked the other boy. “Of course not.”

The soft patting on his back resumed as Minseok let out a deep breath.

Seven plus four. Eleven. Minseok had had eleven partners. Luhan wondered why the hell he was lacking so much. He let out another groan. “Minseoooook.”

The aforementioned boy hummed in response.

“You smell really nice...” Luhan mumbled into his shoulder.

He pictured the other boy’s blushing face.

“You’re so weird.” Minseok muttered, sounding flustered.

That, at least, brought a smile to Luhan’s face.

 

. . .

 

“How about this?” Luhan pointed to a silver necklace with a matching heart pendant strung on it. “If I were your mom, I’d like it.”

Minseok leaned in to the see the necklace beneath the glass counter and inspected it. “It’s pretty. Should I get it?”

Luhan tried to ignore the butterflies in his stomach when he realized how close Minseok was. “I think so,” he said as smoothly as possible, “it’s cute, but it’s sophisticated enough for a grown woman. I’m sure she’ll love it.”

Minseok looked at it for a few moments longer before coming to a decision. “Alright, then. I’ll get it.”

Luhan watched as Minseok spoke with the lady behind the counter and as he went off to pay.

Holding back a sigh, he looked around the large department store. There were many frazzled looking customers (mostly men) running around, trying to find the perfect piece. Luhan had never understood the difficulty in shopping for people. Most people, unless they were assholes, would enjoy and appreciate any present as long as some thought was put into it, so the worry and the hassle wasn’t necessary.

“Alright, let’s go.” Minseok said from beside him, the small bag that contained the necklace in his hand along with bags from other stores.

The two walked around the large shopping mall, stopping every now and then to look at something and occasionally even purchasing it. Minseok double and triple guessed all of his purchases, but Luhan easily soothed his worries and assured him that his family and friends would enjoy his presents. 

Stopping at a clothing store, Luhan walked over to a rack where a sweater caught his eye. He held it up against him and glanced at the mirror. It was dark blue and it set nicely against his skin tone.

“What do you think?” He asked Minseok as he turned to him.

Minseok appraised him and gave him a thumbs up, “Good color choice.” He complimented. Luhan smiled at him and set the sweater off to the side and looked through another rack, holding up the articles that interested him. He was looking at a green cardigan when Minseok spoke up.

“By the way, what do you want for Christmas?” Minseok asked, interest very clear in his voice.

He gathered the clothes that interested him and walked to the changing area, slipping into a room quickly and slipping on the blue sweater he saw first. Luhan walked out and looked into the mirror near the sofa that Minseok set himself down on, his bags at his feet. “What do you think?” He asked the boy.

Minseok assessed him–Luhan tried not to squirm under his gaze–and smiled. “You look great, but you didn’t answer my question.”

“What question?”

Minseok sighed as he leaned on the armrest of the sofa. “What do you want for Christmas?” He reiterated.

Luhan stopped for a few seconds to think before answering, “A boyfriend.” He said nonchalantly as he walked back into the change room to slip off the sweater. He pulled on a loose white shirt with a deep v-neck.

“Be serious.” Minseok complained when he walked back out.

Luhan inspected himself in the mirror, unhappy with what he saw. The shirt hung off his skinny frame in an unflattering manner, and the neckline was too low for his preference.

“Luhan!” Minseok called, pulling him out of his thoughts.

He smiled apologetically and turned to look the other boy straight on, “I’m sorry, what were you saying?”

“Be serious! What do you want for Christmas?”

“I told you, I want a boyfriend,” he told the other boy with a smile on his face and continued quickly before Minseok could speak, “but if that’s too difficult, then anything is fine. A CD, a book, a hat… anything, really.”

Minseok let out of a noise of annoyance and crossed his arms. “Be specific! I don’t know what to get you if you don’t tell me exactly what you want!”

Luhan walked back in the changing room, shrugging off the white shirt and putting on his own clothes. He walked back out, the white shirt in one hand and the blue sweater in the other. “Here,” Luhan said as he pushed the blue sweater into the other boy’s arms, “get me that. I like it.”

Minseok looked down at the article of clothing in his arms. “What? Are you sure?” He asked, uncertainty in his voice.

Luhan patted Minseok’s head reassuringly. “Of course! I told you, I’ll be happy with anything. Just knowing you bothered to get me something is good enough for me.”

Minseok bit his lip, a range of emotions flicking quickly over his face. He seemed to decide on something as he furrowed his brows. He stood up suddenly, determination on his face, and he handed the sweater to Luhan. 

“No,” he said firmly, “I’ll pick it out myself.”

Luhan took the sweater back and smiled at him. “Really, Minseok, don’t think about it too much.”

Minseok didn’t respond or even hint that he had heard what Luhan said. Sighing, he told the boy he’d be right back as he went to buy the sweater for himself.

 

. . .

 

“What are you doing for Christmas?”

“Hello to you, too.” Minseok said as he sat across Luhan. He took a sip from the coffee Luhan had ordered for him already before speaking. “My family is out of town, but Jongdae’s family is coming over to meet the new girlfriend, so I was just going to hang around, I guess. Why?”

“Well… how about spending Christmas with me instead? I could cook something and we could watch movies and just hang out. It could be fun. Only if you want to, though.” Luhan asked. He felt embarrassed (for reasons he didn’t want to think about) so he just hid his face behind his mug of hot chocolate.

Minseok looked up at him with a pleasant sort of surprise on his face that gave Luhan a fuzzy feeling in his stomach. It was probably just the hot beverage, though. Chocolate can do that.

“I’d like that, yeah.” Minseok answered back with a small smile. “I love Jongdae’s family, but I don’t want to intrude.”

Luhan’s anxiety slipped away at his words and he relaxed into his seat. “Yay! We’ll have so much fun, you’ll see! And I’m a really good cook– hey don’t give me that look! I really am good at it…”

 

. . .

 

“Okay, so I burned it a little, but it’s edible!” Luhan said as he opened his door to admit Minseok.

The other boy just laughed and shook his head at Luhan. “You really need to work on your greetings, you know.”

As it turned out, the chicken, which was Luhan’s specialty for the night, wasn’t really quite edible, so they ended up eating the leftovers and junk food in Luhan’s fridge.

They sat on the couch, side by side, watching a comedy playing on the TV.

“Can I ask you something?” Minseok piped up.

Luhan grunted in response. He shoved more chips into his mouth.

“D’you remember when you said that you always confessed first to the people you liked? Well… would there be a chance where you wouldn’t do it?”

Luhan looked over at the other boy, curious as to what the boy was thinking. Minseok was looking at the TV still, but Luhan could tell that he wasn’t paying attention.

“Yeah, actually. If I met someone I really, really liked, I wouldn’t confess first. Sometimes I want to be pampered too, you know what I mean?”

“I see...” Minseok said thoughtfully. Luhan wondered what he was thinking about.

He stared at the TV with something like irritation niggling at him. He knew what the irritation was, but he didn’t want to dwell on it too much. He was just… impatient.

“Well, I’m bored! So…” Luhan said as he reached over beside the arm of the couch where Christmas tree sat. He reached for the rectangular package sitting at the bottom and handed it to Minseok. “Merry Christmas! Open it now!”

Minseok’s eyes lit up at the present in his hands and he unwrapped it carefully. “No. Way. How did you even know?” He stroked the limited edition TVXQ album with happiness clearly in his eyes.

Luhan pretended to flip invisible hair. “Well I may have peeked at your iPod to see what you listened to the most. Remember when we went to the music store too?”

Minseok snapped his fingers with a look of realization on his face. “Right! Now that I think back, you were being a little bit suspicious…” Minseok smiled at him. “Thanks, Luhan. I love it.”

Luhan was taken aback by the look on his face. His cheeks turned pink as he mumbled out a ‘no problem’.

“Right. I’m gonna go grab some more water.” He said as he hurriedly got up from the couch and escaped to his kitchen. His heart was aching and his face felt hot. “Get yourself together, Luhan…” he mumbled to himself.

When he returned to his living room, water bottles in hand, he noticed Minseok slapping his face lightly. “What’s with you?” He questioned, his interest peaked. He sat down on the couch again and faced Minseok.

“Um...” Minseok began with his cheeks tinged red. “Um, well… I– uhhh..” He mumbled.

Luhan just smiled and sat patiently. He wondered what could possibly be so hard to get out.

Minseok took a deep breath. “You know how we were talking about Christmas presents? I thought long and hard about what to get you and I just want to–”

“Oh my god!” Luhan exclaimed, cutting Minseok off. “It’s snowing! Look, look!” He got up and rushed to his living room window and peered outside. Small, delicate snowflakes were trickling down and as the seconds rolled by, it turned into a flurry.

He felt Minseok join him at the window. “Wow!” Minseok whispered in awe.

“I thought this sort of stuff only happened in movies! Oh man… we have to go outside. Come on!” He pulled his friend away from the window and shoved him in his jacket and boots. Luhan didn’t bother take the elevator and instead ran down the stairs.

When he got outside, it was freezing cold and his heavy pants of air let out a beautiful cloud in front of him. He stuck his hands out to touch the flakes as he ran to the small patch of grass in front of his apartment. “Oh, Minseok, it’s so pretty.” He said breathlessly. He poked out his tongue to try and catch a snowflake when Minseok spoke up.

“I like you, Luhan.” He said clearly from behind him.

Luhan was surprised at the sudden outburst. He was about to say something when Minseok cut him off.

“You’re a really great friend to me and I love being around you. You fix my bad days and make the good days even better. I like who I am with you and I never want that to change. Our friendship is so incredibly important to me and I want you to know that I will always treasure that.” Minseok stated, his voice never wavering and his eye contact never breaking.

Luhan was blown away. There was incredible warmth in his chest and he felt a bit lightheaded as he looked at his friend.

Minseok took a deep breath and stepped closer to Luhan. “But I don’t just like you, Luhan. I like you. And I think you like me too, even though sometimes you make it incredibly hard to tell. ” Another step closer. “I love what we are now, but…” He took the few final steps until he was right in front of Luhan.“I want to be more. I want…” he trailed off.

“I want to be yours, and I want you to be mine.” He looked at Luhan straight on with determination and something that looked a little bit like love in his eyes.

In those few moments, Luhan really looked at Minseok. He noticed his determination, and he also noticed how his hands were shaking at his sides and how he was biting his lip nervously. Luhan felt his eyes sting and with each passing second, he found it harder and harder to keep his feelings in check. He tried to speak but the words were caught in his throat.

Minseok gave Luhan a small smile. A tear dropped down his face and all of his feelings, every smile, and every glance he shared with Minseok came rushing to him and he found himself even more overwhelmed. He let out a sob as he pulled Minseok into a tight embrace and pushed his face into the crook of his neck. Minseok responded immediately and wrapped his arms around Luhan’s waist and held him even closer.

Luhan did his best to pull himself together but he was still hiccupping slightly when he drew back to look at his friend.

“I’m all yours, Minseok.” He said, his voice thick and a smile on his face.

He felt Minseok relax immensely and the grin that broke out on his face was absolutely blinding. Minseok brought his face close to Luhan’s and gave him a look, as if to ask for permission. Luhan nodded slightly and smiled.

Minseok didn’t waste a second as he quickly pulled him in and kissed him on the mouth. He was soft and warm and Luhan felt the kiss from the tips of his ears to his toes. Their kiss tasted like juice and candy. It was sweet and worth every single minute he waited for it. It was just… Minseok. It was perfect.

He pulled away and cupped Minseok’s cheeks with his hands. Luhan did his best to send telepathic waves of adoration and he swore he could feel Minseok doing the same.

 

“Minseok.”

“Yeah?” The other boy answered breathlessly.

“This is super romantic and I’m really happy right now… but I’m freezing my ass off and I think my ears have frozen. They’re going to fall off any second now.”

Minseok laughed loudly and without worry. He tugged at Luhan’s hand and pulled him inside. “I’ll warm you up.” He said, mischief in his voice.

“Ooh…”

 

Later that night when Luhan was completely cocooned in blankets to warm up, Minseok approached him with a wrapped gift. “I prepared something else, by the way… just in case the boyfriend thing didn’t work out.” He said as he handed him the present.

Luhan managed to squeeze his arms out of the blankets to hold it. “You thought I’d say no?”

Minseok laughed and sat down on the couch. He burrowed his feet under Luhan, just like he did so many times to him. “I was more worried about myself. I thought I’d chicken out.”

Luhan unwrapped his present and pulled out the huge muffler, hat, and mittens inside.

“I don’t care what you say, Luhan. You’re gonna die from frostbite one day if you don’t dress properly.” Minseok scolded. He reached over and put the hat on Luhan. “Cute.” He remarked.

He pulled the hat further down on his head to (hopefully) distract from his pink cheeks. “I can’t believe you got me a boyfriend for Christmas.” Luhan said, his eyes wide.

“I can’t believe you cried.” Minseok shot back, a teasing grin on his face.

Luhan groaned and covered his face embarrassedly. He really hoped Minseok didn’t notice how red his face was. “It’s your entire fault for being so damn sweet. No one has ever said anything that nice to me…” Luhan moved his hands to his head and started fiddling with the hat. “You know, I couldn’t say anything earlier because I was a bit busy–”

“A bit busy? You were sobbing into my neck!” Minseok interjected.

Luhan smacked him on his leg. “I didn’t sob–”

“The tear stains on my shirt tell a different story…”

He shot Minseok a dirty look and hit him harder. “Shut up and listen.” Luhan scolded. Minseok moved his legs and placed them on the ground and Luhan took the opportunity and wiggled closer to Minseok, his blankets pooling around him. “I didn’t get much of a chance to say it, but… I like you too. A lot. Too much, probably.” Luhan confessed.

Minseok grinned brightly. He brought his hand to the side of Luhan’s face and kissed him tenderly. “Wow, I’m really not getting tired of that.” He said with a happy sigh as he pulled away.

Luhan shoved the blankets off of him and snuggled up close to his new boyfriend to steal his warmth. “I’ve told you before, but I need a lot of love and affection. I hope you’re prepared to give me all of that as my boyfriend.” He informed him as he nuzzled his face against Minseok’s chest.

He felt Minseok pat the top of his head. “I can do that.” He assured.

 

. . .

 

“I still can’t believe you cried.”

Luhan kicked his boyfriend’s shin under the table. “Stop it! You can’t ruin our first date by upsetting me.” He complained as he waved his fork petulantly at Minseok.

Minseok laughed and leaned forward on the table. “I’m sorry… baby.” He whispered the last part.

Luhan shot him a dirty look. “What did you call me?”

The other boy smiled at him easily and hooked Luhan’s feet with his own. “Just a new pet name. Do you like it, baby? Or do you prefer something else? Love? Honey?” Minseok questioned with amusement in his voice.

He felt his face heat up embarrassingly. “Nothing. Don’t call me anything!” Luhan argued. His words sounding pathetic even to himself.

“Whatever you say… sweetheart.” He said with a smirk on his face.

“Minseeeeeeoooookkk!”

 

. . .

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! i've decided to post this fic from aff to ao3 as well. i'm hoping it'll spur a bit of motivation to finish my current longfic
> 
> xo


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